Foreign Affairs fiasco

The dust is still settling on the incendiary intervention caretaker President Granger lobbed into the country’s Foreign Affairs establishment last week with his extensive firings of Ambassadors and removal of its Director-General. But it is already clear that the damage inflicted comes at a critical juncture of our history. The rationale offered by the caretaker – that he is seeking to replace long-serving diplomats with younger, career personnel – does not withstand scrutiny, since his hand-picked Ambassador to Cuba is quite long in the tooth and is not a career…

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Granger downplays ‘firing’ of mission heads

Six Guyanese diplomats who served in foreign states were fired by the David Granger-led Administration but the President downplayed the issue on Wednesday, saying that his Administration’s actions were “just a planned change”. This newspaper understands that those terminated are Hamley Case, who was posted in the United Kingdom; Bishwaishwar Ramsaroop, stationed in the twin-island republic Trinidad and Tobago; Clarissa Riehl, who was posted in Canada; Bayney Karran in China, Cheryl Miles in Venezuela, and JR Deep Ford in Switzerland. Riehl had taken the Government to task in 2016, when…

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Lowenfield’s contract renewed by majority vote at GECOM

Government-nominated Commissioners with support from Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh on Tuesday renewed the contract of the Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield. The contract has been renewed despite the fact that it expires until the end of March 2020. Speaking with the media following the Commission’s statutory meeting, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Commissioner, Sase Gunraj indicated that the Opposition-nominated Commissioners requested that the vote for the CEO’s contract renewal be taken after elections is held in March 2020. He added that nonetheless, the…

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World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Guyanese and The roadways In Guyana, our roads have many stories. Stories of speeding, hit and runs, blatant disregard for traffic rules among a whole host of other stories. It is imperative that we create safe roads because of the number of unnecessary accidents. Drinking and driving is, by far, our most challenging story to deal with and is also the cause of numerous accidents. It is time we start using our roads more cautiously. Do not be afraid to ask the driver to slow down because your life matters.…

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Guyana records over 138 TIP victims so far for 2019

…SOP launched to guide investigators, prosecutors Over 130 victims of trafficking in persons (TIP) have been recorded for the past eleven months. These were identified from TIP-related cases filed during that period which resulted in eight successful prosecutions. These figures were revealed by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday at the launching of Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons Cases in Guyana. He noted that from January to November, the Guyana Police Force’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit investigated 18 cases with…

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US expert says PPP ‘likely’ to return to power in Guyana

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is likely to return to power in the next general and regional elections. So said a respected American academic, in a paper exploring the dynamics of Guyana’s political system. The paper in question is Journals of America, Third Edition, and was written by Dr Evan Ellis, PhD, a research professor and author at the Institute of Strategic Studies of the US Army War College who specialises in China and its engagements with non-Western nations. According to Dr Ellis, the PPP has been citing a number…

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Reelected G/town Mayor to focus on City Hall, Stabroek Market restoration

Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine was on Wednesday re-elected unchallenged to serve again in the same capacity for 2020. Councillors gathered at City Hall where individual votes were tallied. Members of the Private Sector also showed up to witness the election process. Narine, who was the sole nominee, received 22 votes. Alfred Mentore, the former Deputy Mayor, also returned to serve in that capacity. Meanwhile, the Council also elected a Finance Committee, which included People’s National Congress (PNC) member, Oscar Clarke; Trichia Richards, Bishram Kuppen, Ivelaw Henry, Yvonne Ferguson, Cynthia Stewart…

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When will the President dissolve Parliament?

Dear Editor, The vulgar refusal of Mr Granger to dissolve Parliament in keeping with his obligations under the Constitution of Guyana further exposes the flagrant dictatorial hegemony of his and the PNC’s abuse of the presidential authority. Given the continuous and relentless exposure of their clandestine contaminating intent at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the cabal now attempts to further influence and scapegoat the organisation’s willing or unwilling patrimony to justify the ongoing exploitation of Guyanese decency. Citizens must, therefore, be prepared and decisively stop this runaway train now! Public…

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PPP calls on int’l community, ERC to condemn President’s “irrational and incendiary utterance”

The Opposition – People’s Progressive Party – last Saturday condemned President David Granger’s accusation that the Party is waging “civil war” in Guyana. In a strongly-worded statement, the Party said that it was drawn to the attention of the Leader of the Opposition that “de facto President, Mr David Granger, accused the Opposition of ‘waging civil war’ in the country. He was speaking on a radio programme”. The statement said that the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, unreservedly rejects this allegation and condemns such language since it is as…

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